m.agahcaylan@gmail.com | +905414242914 | https://github.com/mehmetagahcaylan
My aim with this CV is to make you know more about my personality, make you chuckle if I might, and dilute the boredom reading CVs may cause…
My name is Mehmet Agah Caylan. The guy down below with a queasy looking expression.
• B.A. Economics, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey (graduation, June 2022) (highest-ranking student of university entrance exam in Economics department in 2017)
• TED Ankara Private Highschool (The Full Education Scholarship)
I am about to graduate from METU. Fun fact about Turkish Universities, “The tough-to-enter public universities are really bad at giving instructions on how to do anything. (Also between you and me, we tend to be graded much more harshly and have way lower CGPAs compared to students from other universities. That’s why mine is 2.77, not that I was very undisciplined in the first two years of my university education… SHHHH! Don’t worry though, now I work passionately. Also to be fair, I played the drums in a band (we did one gig and it sucked), joined the METU Rowing Team (it is the toughest sports team in METU, you have to train six days a week and even though I hadn’t hurt my achilles tendon, I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the tough training schedule) and studied Python from Udemy (looking back and comparing with my current working discipline, I have to admit that I procrastinated a lot and was mostly depressed in the first two years))
o Learning Javascript, Excel and assisting the software development team with minor objectives mostly involving Excel.
o Communicating with Government Supplies Office to further the firm’s aim to have their product enlisted on the GSO catalog which certifies that firm’s (software) product is trustworthy and well-priced.
o Communicating with Government Supplies Office to further the firm’s aim to have their product enlisted on the GSO catalog.
o Organizing the GSO documents in a precise and timely manner.
o Researching the patenting processes of the software product, attending the patenting seminars that are given to entrepreneurs and taking notes.
o Visiting municipalities to assist in negotiation processes, analyzing the products and business strategies of similar firms.
o Attending online meetings with Qatari clients.
o Assisting transportation to and communication with municipalities, attending the negotiation processes between the firm and the potential customers.
o Contacting the Commercial Counsellors of Turkish Embassies through mail to increase international sales and further the firm’s insights about a potential foreign market.
I cannot thank my former boss at Turna Technology, Omer Faruk Kayaaslan enough. I had studied Python through Udemy and after seeing my enthusiasm, he accepted me as an intern in their company. His team helped me with my questions, gave me not too hard to manage but very informative tasks, mostly on Excel. Mr Kayaaslan is very skilled in Excel and seeing him manage his thought process by analyzing huge chunks of data just by writing a few functions made me think, “This data science thing may come in handy in the future.” I also thought of increasing my skills in sales so, I provided assistance voluntarily for a few months. I sometimes felt bored, sometimes felt amazing as we went out and made a sale. But most importantly I learned how to enjoy myself in an office environment, made friends, listened to people’s dreams, complaints, ups and downs.
o Central Bank Electronic Payment technologies were theorized by using the latest news from USA and China.
o The theoretical assumptions were compiled and used to form a presentation on the upcomings of the Digital Yuan.
o China’s Electrical Vehicle Market’s growth was observed through EV products of Nio and SAIC-GM cooperated electric car Wuling Hongguang Mini EV.
o Investigative research and presentation on the Chinese electrical vehicle revolution.
I reached out to Yuksel Gormez after I gained momentum on my Chinese. CHINESE?? I will get to that part… Even though Mr Gormez is in Istanbul, he always motivated me to work on the niche topics that I loved. The Chinese EV market. The Chinese renewable energy market. The Chinese Economy. “What is this OBSESSION WITH CHINA?” You might ask. Let me answer. I always loved studying Asia. I have been to Europe and compared to far east, life is mostly similar to Turkey’s upper middle class’. But Asia has always been a mystery to me. Especially China’s economic growth fascinated me as I learned more and more about economics. I have to admit that there is a pragmatic motivation behind this decision too. China has become the second greatest economy in the world however no student in our department (which is economics!) was studying Chinese, and I was like:
And right now I proudly say that I am writing two articles on China. One of them is about China’s State Owned Enterprises and the other one is about Chinese Photovoltaic Industry.
• Turkish (Native)
• English (Advanced)
• Chinese (Average, HSK 3-certification of proof will be received on 22nd of March 2022)
• German (A2.2)
HSK 3 level of Chinese is equivalent of B1 level of English. I could not get the HSK 2 certificate due to the lack of HSK exams and our Confucius Institute being closed. So I thought that I can just put the pictures of my mock exam in which I did 59/60. The checks and crosses on the right hand side are the answers of true false questions.
I was delighted when I finished the HSK 2 course as it proved me one thing. Dopamine detox works! It is not a healthy refreshing thing that I drink every morning rather a way of living that I implemented to my life which proved to me that I can be happy and hard working in most situations no matter what. Let me elaborate: I downloaded this app called “StayFree” (an app that shows you how much time you spend on every app) which showed me that almost everyday I was using at least three hours of youtube. I feel almost ashamed to calculate the total amount of time that I wasted with Netflix, Lichess and Instagram combined so I will slowly move away from that part…
Then I asked myself calmly, “HOW THE HELL WOULD I NOT BE DEPRESSED LIVING LIKE THIS?!”. So, I cut them all off.
At first I was bored all the time. I read books, did pushups, meditated, studied, e-mailed professors and looked at blank walls from time to time. Then read more books, met and chatted up more people and I noticed that living like this is way more fun! There is a lot more time to focus on Chinese, additional work (by emailing professors I found myself writing those two articles), R programming, lessons, my family, my friends and my girlfriend!
I also tried to find the mechanism that caused this change and I guess I have something that’s close of an answer: Keeping your mind hungry and not letting it feed on cheap, unhealthy fast-food like Youtube and Instagram. Guiding it to what you love or have to do. Or just sleeping if you are too tired but not wasting time and alerting your brain all the time. This Fun CV thing is getting cringier by the second… Here are some wise words to live by:
• Experience in R, Python, and Javascript
• Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint
(Statements of Accomplishments are available in my Linkedin profile)
• Introduction to R
• Intermediate R
• Data Manipulation with data.table in R
• Joining Data with data.table in R
• Introduction to the Tidyverse
• Data Manipulation with dplyr
• Introduction to Data Visualization with ggplot2
• Joining Data with dplyr
I have to mention my aim with these Datacamp certifications. Datacamp is an education website on programming and it has a career track in it with 25 courses, each having approximately 3-4 hours of content. A total of 88 hours needed to finish the track of “Professional Data Scientist with R”. Why is this important? Because the Datacamp subscription is 75 dollars and my country’s exchange rate looks like it’s from the chart of a seismograph machine that was taken out to partying to the club that John Wick killed all those people in the first movie. Our R programming professor told us that we only have 6 months on free membership. I found out about this track recently so I am working hard to get that professional certificate BEFORE MY FREE DATACAMP SUBSCRIPTION EXPIRES.
So, I am trying to get the best out of my subscription with a face like an agitated Mr Krabs.
• Drumming, 2011 - ongoing
• Volunteer mathematics teacher in the Middle East Visually Impaired Society, October 2020 - January 2021
• METU Rowing Team, 2018
• METU Highschool Water Polo Team, 2016
• Wing Chun, 2014 - 2015
• Basketball player in Tofaş, 2008 - 2013
• Comenius Project Guest Student in Iasi, Romania, 2012 (hosted as a guest student in a nearby village)
• Comenius Project Host Student in Ankara, Turkey, 2012 (accommodated a Polish exchange student for a week)
I want to add that I am a huge “The Office” fan. In terms of enthusiasm and cringeworthiness I sometimes resonate Michael Scott. So if you ever want to hire a team-player who is passionate and hard-working, I would be more than happy to contact you. On the other hand, you most probably spent more time on my CV than the other applicants’. That must say something about my resourcefulness.
Here is a Turkish Michael Scott for good luck and success. If you ever want to employ the real one, you have my contact information.